Can You Rebuild Bone Density?

Can You Rebuild Bone Density?

I don’t know about you, but bone health is something that has a strong focus during the early and later stages of our lifespan. Countless advertisements are available expressing the importance of children receiving enough calcium for their development. The other focus is ensuring that those over the age of 60 must refocus their attention on bone health. But, what about all those years in between our youth and twilight years? Is bone health something we don’t need to worry ourselves with? Or is it something super important? And finally, once we find we have lost bone density, is it possible to rebuild it?

All these questions are something we will be focusing on today in our blog post, so stick around if you wanted to find out more. 

Can bone density be improved?

No, sadly bone density cannot be improved as it is impossible to restore the density we have as children. However, there are various ways of supporting a healthy bone density with various habits, lifestyles swaps, and any additional supplements.

  1. Eating more vegetables

Vegetables are rich in minerals, vitamins, and fibre, all of which are extremely beneficial for maintaining healthy bones. Many studies show how the increase of eating more than 9 different types of green and yellow vegetables can slow down the loss of bone density. There is evidence that children who have a variety of vegetables in their diet have healthy fat and increased bone density. You can also help with postmenopausal symptoms, such as loss of density, with more intact of cabbage, broccoli, and other green vegetables.

  1. Ensuring you have enough calcium

The main nutrient for good bone health is calcium meaning it’s an essential part of your diet. Many consider consuming calcium throughout the day ensures optimal results.

Calcium rich foods

  • Milk
  • Sardines
  • Cheese
  • Yoghurt
  • Kale and other leafy green vegetables
  • Beans

There are also plenty of options for calcium enriched supplements, from powders to capsules making it easy incorporate into your diet.

  1. Increase your intact of vitamin D

Having the correct amount of vitamin D in your system is highly important. This is because a lack of the vitamin will result in an increased risk of developing bone disease. 

  1. Stop smoking

Everyone knows the health issues surrounding the habit of smoking. The main diseases relating to lung cancer, but smoking can also affect bone density. The bones will become weaker, and more prone to fracture easily.

Those are some examples of changes and different things to introduce into your routine. If you need further help or support, it is best to consult with your doctor for further advice.

How long does it take to regain bone density?

Establishing the amount of time, it can take for you to regain bone density from person to person. This is twofold due to firstly understanding regain bone density is extremely difficult to achieve, with very few able to. Secondly due to it being such a challenge, it is impossible to determine how long you will have to wait to see any improvement or change in the overall health of your bone density.

How can I increase my bone density naturally?

I have already mentioned some methods previously in the blog explaining different ways of improving bone density. There are also other ways of supporting your bone density, which I will explain now.

  1. Include plenty of protein in your diet

Our bones are made up of 50% protein, when you have a low intake of protein you are affecting how much calcium is absorbed which will have an impact on the health of your bones. This can also be tricky to maintain as a high protein diet contains its own risks. The ideal intake is ensuring your diet is full of plant foods, green vegetables, the correct amount of calcium, and about 100g of protein.

  1. Avoid strict low-calorie diets

Having a strict and low-calorie diet not only slows down the metabolism and muscle loss, it’s also very dangerous for bone health. To maintain perfect bone health, it is recommended you have a calorie intact of 1,200 a day. By keeping your calorie intake at this level with plenty of protein and vitamin rich foods. This is especially important for obese women who take part in sudden drops in calorie intakes, such as less that 925 calories a day, this increases the loss of bone density in the leg and hip area resulting in frequent fractures.

  1. Ensure you have enough magnesium and zinc

Both these supplements benefit your overall health as well as maintaining your bone density. Magnesium for example helps convert vitamin D ensuring it can promote calcium to absorb into the bones effectively. As for zinc, the body only needs a small amount of the vitamin to help it form the mineral portion that your bones contain.

  1. Regular exercising and strength building

Keeping fit and exercising regularly will ensure you are not only maintaining a healthy lifestyle and weight. You will also find your bones are able to slow down the process of losing their density, resulting in stronger, healthier bones that are less susceptible to breaking.

Which foods increase bone density?

I have already spoken about the benefits of ensuring you are including the correct amount of calcium and vitamin D in your diet. This can be achieved with the help of supplements as well as certain food types.

Calcium rich foods

  • Milk and dairy food types
  • Green leafy vegetables, such as kale, broccoli, cabbage, and okra
  • Tofu
  • Soya beans
  • Fish who’s bones you can eat, such as sardines and pilchards
  • Baked goods made with fortified flour
  • Nuts

Vitamin D rich foods

  • Egg yolks
  • Fortified foods, such as cereal
  • Oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines

There you have some foods enriched in beneficial vitamins, always check with your doctor before introducing any new supplements to your diet to avoid unwanted side effects.

There you have a little more information about rebuilding bone density, don’t forget if you have any further questions, come, and find us on Instagram to find out more.